Decorticating and depulping machine and method



Feb. 24, 1931. K. ERB 1,794,065

DECORTICATING AND DEPULPING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 1'7, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 1

B B B0 Fig. 4

mvs/vro/v KARL ERB A TTORNE Y Feb. 24, 1931. ERB 1,794,065

DECORTICA TING AND DEPULPING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May- 17, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR KA R z. ERB

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 24, 1931 PATENT OFFICE KAI tL EBB, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN-GBIESHEIM, GERMANY DEGOBTIOATING AND DEPULPING MACHINE AND METHOD Application filed May 17, 1929, Serial No. 363,834, and in- Germany September 1, 1927.

My invention relates to the problem of efiectively and economically decorticating 1 in their longitudinal direction downwardly into theworking space between the stripping drums and their'counterbeams, viz, m a d1- rection corresponding to the circumferential path of'the stripping knives.

The leaves after having thus been depulped are then longitudinally withdrawn in the opposite direction, which manipulation entailed the disadvantage that the period of time while the leaves are withdrawn is lost and the output is correspondingly reduced.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved machine for the particular purpose set forth in which-the leaves under treatment are passed'only in one direction through the working space between the drum and its counterbeam with the result that a larger quantity of leaves can be depulped in a relatively short period of time and the output of the machine is considerably increased. i

Another object of the. invention is to render the manipulation of the leaves less dangerous to the attendants by providing an improved depulping machine having a mechanism for automatically gripping and carrying the leaves into the machine and conveying them past the stripping drums.

In my co-pending patent applications, Ser. Nos. 353,133 and-363,835, machines designed for decorticating fibre-containing plants and particularly the leaves of Yuccacaenas and Dracaenas are described, havingrotary stripping drums associated with leaf supporting members or counterbeams of relatively small width when compared with the circumference of the stripping drums, the object ofand to prevent an undue straining of the fibres and breaking them into short pieces of little commercial value.

My invention further aims at providing an improved method of conveying the leaves through machines of said type i. e. having a'leaf supporting member of relatively -small width when compared with the circumference of the stripping drum: According to the invention the leaves are carried through the working space between the stripping drum and its counterbeam of limited width in an ascending path.

Decorticating'machines are known per se in the art having two pairs of stripping drums cooperating with each other between which the leaves are decorticated on both sides simultaneously andare conveyed through the working space between the said drums in an ascending path.

. As a matter of fact known to practitioners machines of this double drum type cannot be used in practice for decorticating leaves of the Yuccacaena-class and of plants of kindred genus. I

The invention aims at providingan improved decorticating machine which is less costly and less complicated than the double drum type machines, and in which Yuccacaena and other leaves can betefiectively decorticated in a relatively short time so that a maximum quantity of sound fibres having their full natural length is produced.

According to this invention-the leaves while being carried past the stripping drumsv by endless conveying ropes in an ascending pathare at the same time presented to the action of the stripping knives in the most convenient and favorable position by inserting the leaves between the conveying ropes in an oblique position to the latter.

' Heretoforeit has been common practice to place the leaves on the conveying ropes at right angles to the'latter. Myexperiments have shown that this results in unduly bending and breaking the leaves near their clamping point 3 as indicated in Fig. 5.

I have found that this is due to the fact that the leaf under treatment is forcibly bent by the pulling action of the knives from its It is one of the main objects of'my invention to overcome the said drawback. Qther objects of the invention will become incldentally apparent hereinafter.

The nature and the scope of my invention are outlined in the appended claims and will be more fully understood by the following specification: and-the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing diagrammatically the cooperation of the stripping drum and the conveying means,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation'corresponding to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation dia rammatically showing a structurally modi ed conveying mechanism,

Fig. 4 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 3,

Figs. 5 and6 illustrate perspectively an undesirable way and the correct manner of positioning the leaves on the conveying mechanism.

The decorticating and depulping machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a stripping drum 1 having scraping knives 2 attached thereto, the'latter cooperating with a counterbeam 3. a

The mechanism for conveying the leaves to be decorticated and depulped into the machine comprises an upper set and a lower set of flexible members such as belts 4, 4', the latter both running under a guide pulley 5 and thence in an upwardly inclined direction past the stripping drum 1. vTwo sets of guide rollers 6, 7 are provided for pressing the upper and'lower conveying belts against each other.

The leaves to be depulped should be introduced into the conveying mechanism in .an oblique position relatively. to the feeding direction m, viz, so that the leaves are engaged and supported near. their thick ends with their section B ready to be depulped first lagging behind the opposite end B of the leaves.

By reason of the oblique position of the leaves relatively to the feeding direction a: specified above and by virtue of the upwardly inclined path in which the conveying belts run relatively to the stripping drum, the

leaves will pass along the latter with their. 'fibres extending substantially vertically,

viz, in the circumferential working direction (if thi knives of the drum, as seen at B B in The same is true with regard to the structurally modified conveying mechanism shown in Figs. 3 and 4 which comprises one upper conveying rope 14 and two lower conveying ropes 13, 13' running-around a guide pulley it can be seen that the leaves would be forcibly bent down, torn and broken at y by. the scraping action of the depulping knives in case of the leaves being positionedas it was usual hithertoperpendicularly to the conveying direction onto the conveying ropes, viz, not obliquely to the latter as proposed above. 7

It should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction and design of decorticating and depulping machines described above and in the assemblage and cooperation of their component parts, without substantially departing from the spirit and the salient ideas of my invention and without sacrificing any of the advantages referred to hereinbefore.

What I- claim is: 1. The method of reclaiming fibers from the Yuccacaenas, Dracaenas, and other plants of kindred genus which consists in feeding the leaves-at an oblique angle to the line of travel to a rotating stripping drum, and engaging the leaves with the drum with the fibers thereof disposed transversely to the axis of rotation of said drum, then moving the leaves obliquely across the drum while maintaining a non-movable pressure on the back of the leaves at their area of contactwith the stripping drum.

2. A machine for decorticating leaves of the character set forth comprising a rotary stripping drum, a counterbeam associated with said drum, and a conveyor adapted to feed leaves between said counterbeam and drum, said conveyor being positioned with its direction of travel on a line oblique to the axis of said drum and in a .vertical plane thereby to enter said leaves between said counterbeam and drum transversely to the direction of the fibers therein and move said leaves longitudinally between said counterbeam and drum.

In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification.

KARL EBB. 

